Annoying Gym Behaviour - Mk2(?)

Black Sheep

I really think most people queue or don't sub movements when applicable because they just aren't confident in their understanding of how to sub, and what is like for like. I think it's that simple.

They don't understand what muscles are being trained in all movements, and although they might have a general understanding of horizontal push, pull vs vertical etc When it comes to pulling the trigger and picking a substitute a lot of them would rather wait than risk getting it wrong.

Mellor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122665932#Comment_122665932

Agree. Plus there is an awful lot of people who do know what's being trained, but that re simply invested in the broscience that says a particular variation is more effective at isolation the most lateral tricep head to look good in a white tshirt.

Cill94

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122667538#Comment_122667538

Yeah I would assume it's a blend of both problems. Being convinced by an influencer that there's something radically different about the variation of an exercise they promote, and also just not knowing how to change it for something similar.

I see so much content that says 'you're training x muscle wrong' and then provides a magic bullet solution. I would have to think it's playing a factor in how many exercise options people think they have available to them.

Black Sheep

My favorite are the influencers who say you are "wasting your time" doing X and then six months later, when they've shifted position completely, they're promoting X and have memory holed everything they said before. It's hilarious, if you follow someone doing this for long enough, but also shows you so many of them are just grifters. Just churning out the content, monetising whatever they can, no actual experience base or clients or proven track record in many cases.

Captain_Crash

99% of online PT’s are full of sh*t. They’ll say everything and anything if it gets them a few likes on Instagram from those chicks who post their ass with the caption “trained legs today, so sore”! Like and subscribe and why not sign up to my 6 month challenge, only 479.99 per month!

That’s my input to the annoying gym behaviour. I’m sure it counts since it’s gym related 😂😂

Black Sheep

I would distinguish between PTs and influencers selling programmes.

Mellor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122670369#Comment_122670369

That's not much to distinguish most of the time. Obviously some influencers will spruik anything including a generic program with their name and a silly price tag on it. Same influencers selling retreats, mindfulness subscriptions, make up etc.

But a huge part of the PT wheelhouse these days is online revenue streams. These are PTs like any other in the gym, gaining clients through content. Some are genuinely good and know what they are talking about. A lot are a few bad financial decisions away from only fans

Black Sheep

There are a lot of influencers and PTs who overlap in terms of their grifting and general uselessness, but I was really only responding to the comment that 99% of online PTs are full of ****. I think it's a bit negative, and what was described was really the worst of behaviour, there are some coaches who are knocking it out of the park, online.

The delivery of PT, group coaching and individual, and the sale of programming and other content, online, has been a gamechanger … Not just for particular coaches and gyms, but for clients too. This is probably the greatest time to be a gym rat in the history of the world. You can be living in Dublin, training in your shed, and you can more or less be following the approach being taken by some of the best in the world, no matter where they're located. I've got Joe DeFranco on my phone, giving me tips on my box jump videos, honestly, 90s me would never believe it.

Cill94

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122669454#Comment_122669454

Athlean X is the grifter king of saying whatever he has to for clicks. No integrity or desire to provide useful information. Couldn't care less if he contradicts everything he's ever said. Has also used been caught out using fake weights in his videos.

Black Sheep

The fake weights thing is mind-blowing. I guess the female equivalent is the extensive photoshopping of images by female influencers. There's an account by a coach in NY that is dedicated to calling these people out, for promoting false standards, he finds all the bent lines and whatnot, visible in the backgrounds.

Mellor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122671044#Comment_122671044

I think the 99% comment was hyperbole I assume.

Mellor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122671750#Comment_122671750

Goob.
To be fair, he calls out as many men as women. Although the men are as likely to appear for some creepy predator behaviour as photoshopping.

Captain_Crash

Yeah Goob, he’s brilliant, and a load of them clap back at him and he just doubles down. That’s the kid of energy I can get behind!

And yes the 99% might have been hyperbole to an extent! But it’s still the vaaaaaaast majority! Sad things is the genuine PT’s are stuck fighting in that mud and ain’t gonna win against FlexTrenMcgee who has 17M followers!

This is true, I grew up with a girl who’s now a “fitness influencer” with several million followers and I can say 100% she doesn’t know her arse from her elbow! But it’s a nice arse, and she’s a pretty face so it’s a win win for Instagram! That’s the world we live in!

mindhorn

Got a link to his channel?

nullzero

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122665239#Comment_122665239

People who in a busy gym go ahead and take their sweet time, including four or five minute breaks between sets of cables (I've seen people pulling 12kg on a cable taking the these types of breaks between sets) and refusing to allow people to work in.

I saw one guy using a dual cable machine, one side for pull downs the alternating to the other side for bicep curls with a single cable next to that which he could have used for both, refuse to allow a young lad to work in with him, he had been on that machine for over 30 minutes at that stage. I went over shortly afterwards and asked was he really using the equipment in that way and he apologetically allowed me to use it. He felt comfortable being an ass to the younger lad but knew he couldn't get away with it where an older man was concerned.

People just need to be decent to each other, even in a busy gym there's scope to use equipment efficiently and allow others the opportunity to get value out of their membership.

Strumms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122665027#Comment_122665027

4 rules are too many 😅 ok. ? I’d imagine most gyms have a set of rules / charter exceeding ‘4’… paying on time, gym attire, health and safety, fire regs… there is 4 more for ya, you better stay away 😉

Thing is where I go 99.99% of us manage to adhere to the rules 100% of the time. The negatives simply are interesting to note and in context with the thread so….just like the TA thread is AH. 🤷‍♂️

Stephen_Maturin

When people go to the gym with their mates

Four young lads in the gym today going around in a group.
Congregate around a machine talking shite while one does one set, then the next fella, then the next fella etc etc rinse and repeat until all 4 have done 3 sets, hogging the machine for half an hour before they move onto the next one

Not only is it inconsiderate, it also just seems to be a terrible way to work out. Not the sharpest lads.

redzerredzer

I don’t see the problem with the above. is that not a better use of the equipment? Better than 4 people using it one after another.

Just because they were young you take an issue.

Stephen_Maturin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122674388#Comment_122674388

Eh no, it’s not a better use of equipment for a group of people to commandeer a machine to themselves for extended periods of time not allowing anyone to work in, it’s asshole behaviour

It’s also just pointless and stupid as I outlined above, the other lads standing around talking taking the guts of 15 minutes between sets until their next set rolls around. None of them are getting a good workout and they’re annoying people.
Why can’t they just workout like normal people and then have their chats afterwards? Why do they need several of their mates supervising them for every set?

Mr. CooL ICE

Did you try asking to work in?

Stephen_Maturin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122674815#Comment_122674815

Yes

They said “No sorry he’s next, and then him, and then him…”

Mitch Connor

But how is it different from 4 unconnected people getting ahead of you?

If they are wasting time chatting then yeah, but if they are working through consistently then it's probably quicker through the 4 in this way?

Musicrules

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122674828#Comment_122674828

It's halved the time if they were doing it individually without working in.

fatbhoy

Yeah not letting people work in, especially on a machine or cable, is wrong. I reckon 5 people can be sharing one piece of equipment: say each person takes 40 seconds to setup and do their set, that's 4 x 40s = 160s, plus 20s for faffing about, that's 180s, so your wait time (AKA rest time) is 180s / 60s = 3 minutes, which is grand usually.

sudocremegg

When there's an unoccupied bench press rack but one guy insists on dragging a free bench over and using the busy squat racks to bench press.

Similarly when somebody uses the bench press setup as a normal bench for dumbbell exercises.

I've noticed girls in particular never unload the weights from the hip thrust machine. Such a pain.

Mark Hamill

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122662674#Comment_122662674

I use my phone all the time in the gym. It has music, but it also has my routines on it, via google sheets, with the reps and weights I am aiming for for each set (which I update as I progress). Sometimes, if a lift is very new to me or I am just never good at it and it doesn't feel right, I will look up form instructions videos on Youtube or google.

I, of course, am aware of other users in the gym and will not delay anyone else by using the phone more than necessary, but it is a very useful thing to have on you when working out.

BlazingSaddler

People who leave their weights on the equipment after they have finished drive me mad, I’m an old weakling and don’t want to have to be taking two or more 25kg plates from a machine or bar before I begin!

testtech05

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122675412#Comment_122675412

Id largely agree with this point generally but in the small local gym I go to the bench rack is very awkward to rack/unrack with any sort of decent weight on it so if you have no one to unrack with you I would just feel safer doing my bench in a power rack. But that is not always the case I would imagine

Black Sheep

I agree that benching inside a squat rack is the gold standard for safety, and there's certainly times I've done it…

…But also, if a gym is busy, and someone wants to bench in the squat rack because otherwise they're not confident in racking and unracking safely… I dunno, I'd be inclined to query whether they're benching too heavy for their relative strength and experience anyway. Accidents can happen and safeties are always handy to have, but I don't know that I'd want to be in a situation where I didn't feel safe to do a run of the mill bench session without them.

I accept I don't know anyone's situation. If someone is a powerlifter and they're peaking and it's genuinely heavy and dicey, and there's no decent spotters on hand, then fair enough.

Mellor

know much and is promoting pre-made programs. Devils advocate, but I doubt she is doing 1on1 coaching for advanced lifters. People looking for “10-week booty” routine, don’t need much more than a cookie cutter.

Could they get one online. Sure. Will they be more likely to invest the effort abd paying some influencer for it. Probably.

It’s ridiculous, but that’s what a lot of people are after in todays quick fix world..

Mellor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122674444#Comment_122674444

If 4 people use a piece of equipment. Each taking 1 min to set up and do their set. Then the other 3 go. It’s the same time as 1 person taking 3 minutes rest. It should not add significant time.

15 minutes between sets seems like an e aggregation. Was just just one machine/rack or multiple?

Cill94

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122676781#Comment_122676781

Doing online coaching with people, I instruct them to always bench with safeties, even if that requires using a power rack.

It might seem overly cautious, but the barbell bench is the only major barbell lift where your head/throat can be trapped under heavy weight if you miss.

Obviously if someone is really inexperienced, I just get them doing dumbbells or push-ups. But even with people who know what they are doing, bench accidents can still happen. As rare as it is, you reduce the risk of it happening to near zero if you simply just use safeties.

I myself don't like benching without safeties if I can avoid it. If I don't have them, I'll leave clips off the bar so I can bail to the side.

avfc1874

I have so admiration for carerers,

But the way joe patronizes them is sickening

avfc1874

Bet Joe doesn't tell them they're still very very young at 66 🤔

Mark Hamill

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122676519#Comment_122676519

I tell myself it's because they are too weak to put them back.

It also annoys me when people do put the plates back, but instead of spreading them out across multiple storage bars, they stack them on one bar, with the lightest weights on the inside. I can move any of the plates I need to now, but when I started I really struggled shifting the 25kgs, and I see people a lot smaller or older than me at the gym who would likely struggle with anything but the smallest plates. It's massively self-centered behaviour.

testtech05

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122682787#Comment_122682787

This really annoys me too, i am not really sure which i find worse. I think putting them back but in random order leaving smaller ones stuck behind 25kg plates probably as you have done the hard part by taking the weight off.

fatbhoy

On racks, there are outer holders for plates, and shorter inner holders for maybe tiny plates (e.g. 1.25kg) and barbell clamps. So it really annoys me when people store the clamps on the outer, plate holders rather than the inner ones, because it takes up a lot of space of the length of the holders and therefore you can't fit/store as many plates on them as you should be able to.

2nd Row Donkey

Wait what? Aren't the clamps suppose to be left on the empty bar after you've re-racked the plates?

fatbhoy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122693008#Comment_122693008

Possibly, but a lot of the bars are stored vertically in holders on our racks, so in those cases no, but if the bar is left on the rack in the normal position, horizontally, then yeah, I suppose so.

murphthesmurf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122669483#Comment_122669483

This, DO NOT get your training advice from Instagram!

murphthesmurf

Most annoying gym behavior, phones! F***in phones! FFS get off your f**kin phones!

Second is people somehow training their entire body using just the cables. So when I want to do the one exercise I can't do without a cable they're all permanently full.

xckjoo

The phone seems like a comfort blanket to a lot of people. They break for cover to bash out a few quick reps then are back on it before the weights have even settled. There's something a bit unsettling about it. Reminds me of watching field mice.

fatbhoy

WTF is wrong with using phones?! I use my phone's stopwatch to time my rests, and while it's counting-down I browse this and that on the phone to alleviate the boredom of the wait.

xckjoo

I use mine for tracking my lifts and stuff too but not for browsing. If I'm in the gym then I'm in the gym, not checking Instagram. Be present in what you're doing. You'll get a lot more out of it. If you can't stop doomscrolling for the couple of minutes between sets you should take a step back and evaluate the hold your phone has on you. Getting bored within the space of a few mins is not normal

Black Sheep

I was in the gym today and - I think this in the bona fide genuinely annoying category - …there was a guy who smelled of sweat SO strongly, I actually had to open up fire escape doors to try and get some air into the place. It was unreal.

I would assume he was working out in clothes that he hadn't washed from a previous cardio workout.

A one-off where I train, I haven't come across that in a while, but he made an impression!

Before anyone asks - yes, I would approach someone in a situation like this, and politely explain what the issue is.

BUT my personal rule of thumb is to always give the benefit of the doubt if it's a first-time encounter. Maybe this guy arrived in the gym, realised he only had his dirty gear, and he genuinely didn't realise how bad it was until he was starting off the workout, and then he fired away rather than miss the workout. I'll cut some slack unless it happens again, personally.

But my god, the foulness…

nullzero

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122718607#Comment_122718607

One scenario I see a lot is a person pulling something like 12 kg on a cable (in effect this is like lifting a bottle of water) taking four to five minutes between sets and spending that time with their head craned down over their phone.

The phone isn't the biggest issue, rather the complete lack of awareness of the fact that other people want to use the equipment as well.

Phones encourage a type of absent mindedness that can turn other people's time in the gym into an extremely frustrating experience.

Black Sheep

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122719194#Comment_122719194

Just ask to work in, surely?

nullzero

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122720856#Comment_122720856

Very few of them are willing to allow people to work in unfortunately. They feel the equipment is theirs until they see fit to walk away from it.

Gym etiquette has gone by the wayside in recent years.

Black Sheep

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122721004#Comment_122721004

I have to say, in all the years I've asked, I've never been refused permission to 'work in'. I know, based on the posts of others on here, that it does happen, but my impression remains that it's very rare.

I would certainly ask, and establish for sure.

If someone is on their phone for 3 or 4 minutes, usually they're not the ones who are going to raise an objection (I think if someone is benching or squatting heavy, or if they're doing a protocol with very short rest periods, like some kind of cluster set, or giant set, it makes more sense to politely tell someone they'll have to wait).

nullzero

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122721647#Comment_122721647

Well I have asked and have been met with anything from a polite no to outright indignation, that's why I outlined my experience of people refusing.

As for people being less likely to raise objections if they're on their phones for longer, again that's not my experience.

The gym I'm a member of has become oversubscribed in recent years, new members aren't instructed in any way by staff upon joining and these issues are arising from that it would seem.

If your gym is full of good eggs who are willing to get along with others I'm happy for you, unfortunately that's not happening where I am in recent times.